Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report reiterates unrelenting whole-system challenges

Responding to Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ Annual Report for 2023-24, assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Nesta Lloyd-Jones, said:

“NHS leaders will welcome Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ report, which clearly highlights the sustained pressures and challenges facing the health and care system in Wales, as well as the strengths and positive developments.

“It’s positive to see the hugely valuable contribution of staff acknowledged, as well as the innovative responses to high demand in the face of adversity. New initiatives and systems introduced to improve services show the huge efforts of staff and NHS leaders to deliver quality care for patients in the most difficult of circumstances.

“However, without addressing the challenges facing social care, the pressing need for a long-term investment plan in NHS estates and infrastructure and shifting resources towards preventative activity across the whole public sector, we cannot expect to make meaningful, long-term progress when tackling the widespread challenges facing the health and care system.

“Underpinning all of this is a lack of long-term financial certainty, which has a big impact on the NHS’s ability to plan and deliver quality services and achieve the best outcomes for patients. While the system is facing these intense challenges, we cannot expect to recruit and retain the level of staff needed to respond to demand.”